


Kell and the Magicians

by Starwaia



Category: The Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini
Genre: Character Death, Gen, Original Character-centric, Post-Series, magic and the hazards of such
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 03:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21367498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starwaia/pseuds/Starwaia
Summary: A youngster is manipulated into discovering the power, and perils, of using the ancient language of magic.
Kudos: 4





	Kell and the Magicians

**Author's Note:**

> I understand this isn't fully compatible with how the ancient language actually works; forgive me, as this was self-indulgent and mainly written to escape writer's block. Note that this is merely an excerpt of what could be a larger story, which would therefore have more buildup to the defining moment rather than jumping in and expecting readers to figure out how that moment came to be. I know this is not an excuse. Forgive me.

Kell considered changing her name. Surely, she thought, a powerful and fantastic magician would need a powerful and fantastic name. She began to fantasize and plan during her off moments. Sofier, she decided. That would be her name once she joined the magicians. It sounded like Sofia, a name she was fond of, and also like fire, or perhaps fear. The magicians said that simple people feared people with power. Kell's mother feared power, they said, and might end up fearing Kell. Kell wasn't sure she liked that.   
  
Had her mother known the extent of the magicians' interest in Kell, the superstitious woman would indeed have had reason to fear her. Kell had not yet tried the spell they had given her, but her lips and tongue itched with the word unspoken. Though reluctant to cause "great harm", as the leader of the magicians had described, Kell wondered what it would be like to speak aloud the word that could change her fate, as they said it had done for many others, supposedly even the great Rider Eragon himself.   
  
_It couldn't hurt to whisper, could it? ___  
__  
Late one night, in the hayloft, she decided to try it. If she thought hard enough, or rather, thought _against_ it hard enough- though, how this would work, she wasn’t exactly sure- surely the magic would stay under her control. Maybe it wouldn't do anything at all. She could just say the word, and see if it was truly as dangerous as it seemed.   
  
A part of her must have wanted to create a spectacle. A part of her had wanted a fantastic name, a magician's name; that part must, at last, have shown itself in full. Or perhaps it was truly an accident. That was what she would tell herself later. _I was untrained. It was an accident. I didn't mean it, not like this… _and so on.   
  
She didn't mean to whisper "_brisingr!_" only to lose consciousness before she could warn anyone about the fire. She didn't expect the entire barn to go up in flames, then to have it spread to the straw-thatched roof of the neighboring farmhouse. She didn't expect to have barely enough energy remaining to crawl away from the blaze, to only watch as her livelihood went up in flames, her family along with it. Their screams went unheard amidst the crackling of the blaze.

  
One could assume that she didn't expect to become an orphan because of a simple spell, but as things went, it happened anyway.    
  
The magicians came for her before the last embers had burned out. T’was such a sad mistake, they said, shaking their heads. This is why you need proper training. Soon the cause of the fire would be identified, and only they had the power or the authority to protect her from those who would wish her harm for her actions. It had been a mistake, but a costly one, and who could say what other mistakes could happen if she did not accept their assistance?    
  
Kell went with them. What else could she do?    
  
In the end, Kell kept her given name. After all, one's name is the mark of one's family… and what Kell had done to her family would mark her for the rest of her life. 


End file.
